The invention relates to an article of furniture specifically adapted to be used as a desk in a nursing home, or other geriatric, environment. The nursing home environment presents many challenging problems to the appropriate design of furnishings making up the personal space in room setting where aged people spend the majority of their time. The desk assembly according to the present invention is specifically constructed with such design criteria in mind.
The fold-down desk assembly according to the present invention is preferably utilized in a personal space defining system such as disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 136,095, filed Mar. 31, 1980 by Joseph A. Koncelik, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,042 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein). Such a system provides room divisions for a nursing home and furnishings integrated therewith for providing safety, comfort, control, and sense of personal ownership for aging people to be occupying the nursing home. The desk assembly according to the present invention is imminently suited for such a system since it is capable of being folded out of the way, may be readily used by non-ambulatory individuals, has built-in safety features, and can be moved from the operative to nonoperative positions and vice versa by even aged individuals having severe arthritis.
The desk assembly according to the present invention is preferably mounted on a wall, particularly a wall panel. The assembly includes a casing, a writing surface, means for pivotally mounting the writing surface to the casing, and means for interconnecting the writing surface and the casing so that as the writing surface is moved away from the casing about the pivot means the movement of the writing surface is slow and gradual until it is positively stopped at a predetermined position. Additionally means are provided for mounting the casing to a wall panel so that the writing surface is movable from a first position wherein it is substantially vertical and abuts the casing, to a second position wherein it is stopped with respect to the casing in a substantially horizontal position. The desk assembly is mounted so that it can easily accommodate a wheelchair user. The depth of the surface is sufficient to allow penetration of a wheelchair beneath the surface, and it is at a height for ready use by a person in a wheelchair.
The writing surface comprises a flat body portion with a raised edge around substantially the entire circumference thereof. The raised edge prevents roll off of objects or liquids, which is especially important considering the limited dexterity of potential users. Additionally all corners of the writing surface and casing are rounded to maximize safety. The casing comprises means defining large elongated recesses around the periphery of the casing so that when the writing surface is substantially vertical and abuts the casing it may be readily grasped and pivoted downwardly by an individual inserting a portion of their hand between the writing surface and the casing at a recess. This is especially important for users having arthritic conditions.
Special hangers are provided for mounting the desk on a wall panel. A preferred hanger comprises a pair of arms each having a hook at a first end thereof for hooking onto a top portion of the wall panel. A flattened portion may be provided at the second end thereof opposite the first end, the second portion operatively attached to the casing. Each arm may comprise first and second perpendicular faces, the first face engaging the back of the casing, and the second face engaging a side surface of the casing.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a fold-down desk assembly particularly adapted for mounting on a wall panel, and for use in a geriatric environment. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.